Between the social workers, the legal proceedings' multiple participants, the adoptive parents, the birth mother, Judd and Ben, the supportive young neighbor and and other various witnesses, reference to the center of this hour's focus - the baby - is made dozens and dozens of times. Yet NEVER by name. She's inevitably referred to as 'this child,' 'the little girl,' 'the baby,' 'her daughter'. Kinda strange. Stranger still is that she receives no mention in the end credits. She's totally anonymous, like she doesn't exist. Ed. - a shame.
For mere minutes the child who plays the baby girl the Arnolds have raised and have now absconded with to the remote cabin in hilly terrain plays her so naturally and so adorably, all the while unaware of the danger she's in. Within the show's full length, 51-minutes, at minute 33, facing camera she's sitting on the top of the cabin's wooden porch surrounded by this rugged beauty - which could jeopardize her safety if left unattended - might usually have been played out on a soundstage set duplicating the outdoor region.
It's impossible not to notice the ultimate cute, charming girl so naturally moving her head following the scene unfolding. It's accompanied throughout by a magnificent, gentle music score by Robert Drasnin.
The impact is more profound because the director has the two adults come down on their knees to the baby's level; therefore the brief interaction among the three is more connected, pronounced and made more interesting by way of letting the baby be of equal worth, dramatically.
Even though the little girl's harness is soon secured to the porch railing by a length of rope, it's heart-breaking and terrifying to realize she is to be left unattended.